Today we are celebrating Blur’s Modern life Is Rubbish – you’ll find out why in mo – one of the most brilliant and influential albums of the 90s. Here’s ten reasons why you should give it a spin tonight (and every night). 1 It has the most amazing image on the cover That’s The Mallard, the art deco-esque train, coughs, …

Ok, so I know that some of you rate Bono as the most annoying man on the planet, that you thought that U2’s Glasto performance sucked and that their last few albums have been a little on the dull side. Here though are 10 reasons why you should stop being so cynical about U2. 1 The debut album Boy is brilliant It is …

1 They brought Dylan to the masses And helped him on his discovery of electric music 2 They influenced The Beatles The Fabs hero-worshiped them, and many Beatles tracks feature that trademark Byrds jangly guitar. Rubber Soul was almost a Byrds tribute album. 3 They were first to get a Psychedelic song in the charts This was a full …

1 Without The Beatles The Stones would still be playing in back street pubs in Kent The Fabs even gifted The Stones their first hit single 2 The Beatles had an amazingly consistent run of brilliant albums The Stones’ 60s albums were a bit hit and miss. There is a reason why they got a reputation as a singles …

1 They have the coolest member of both bands Brian Jones or Ringo? There’s no contest there. 2 The Stones had an edgy dark side. The Beatles would never have released an album called Their Satanic Majesties would they? The Beatles dabbled with the counter culture in the 60s. The Stones were the counter culture 3 The Beatles gave up …

If you live in or near Liverpool you are in for a treat this weekend, as from Tuesday Sound City returns. And this year the collection of bands that are playing are very impressive especially if you like your psych 60s influenced music. It seems like the whole group of Heavenly Records psych bands are playing so you can hear …

The Wicked Whispers were named as one of the bands to watch for in 2013 by this fella – and he strikes me as a man with excellent musical taste. So I wonder now if the Everton dressing room is resounding to the sounds of the new Wicked Whispers single Voodoo Moon. It’s another Doors meets The Zombies keyboard driven …

If you have never heard The Shadow Kabinet’s epic album Smiling Worlds Apart I suggest you do it pronto. Especially if you love The Beatles. For with tracks like Tabla Motown (a quirky sitar driven instrumental) Office Life (Lovely Rita style pop) and the title (think Harrison’s droney psych), multi-instrumentalist Steve Somerset, for he is The Shadow Kabinet created a Sgt …

Record Booths, basically mini recording studios where you went in to sing your songs and came out with a newly pressed bit of vinyl, were all the rage in the 40s and 50s. These days, with cassettes and digital recording, not so much. In fact they pretty much disappeared in the 1970s, So it is so amazing that Jack White …

Simon Poulter of What Would David Bowie Do? remembers a brilliant designer. If you were to ask me to make a list of the greatest albums of all time, I could start now and probably never finish. Magazines and radio stations regularly try to give it a go, but rarely come up with a top 10, top 100 or even …

It has been three long years since The Len Price 3 issued their fabulous Pictures album, so it really exciting to hear the first track from the band’s upcoming, as yet untitled, new album. Maggie, is as you might have guessed, a non-tribute to the recently departed ex-PM and if you are in any doubts where the boys stand on …

One of the most intriguing books about popular culture in a while went on sale last month. Richard Weight’s Mod: A Very British Style is not a rose-tinted, nostalgic romp through the history of a movement that has had profound impact on British culture, but a serious academic (yet still very readable) study of what Mod is and was and how the 60s Mods have influenced British society. It scope – which goes way beyond most books about Mods -has already attracted criticism from hardcore …

Some big news this week from The Three O’Clock – quite possibly the 80s finest pop psych band. The Paisley Undergrounders, who reformed this year to play Coachella (and please, please, please some UK dates too), have announced the release of a new old album which pairs many of their most popular songs with a some rarities. Titled The Hidden …

Simon Poulter of What Would David Bowie Do? fame salutes a pop legend. Europe is cold. No matter which part of the continent you find yourself, it is as cold as the proverbial sorceress mammary gland. Brass monkeys. ‘Taters. Choose your analogous epithet. In Europe’s southern half, where I currently find myself, it is not only cold and wet, but …

Not long to wait now. Record Store Day is coming a week on Saturday and I’ll be spending that day hunting down obscure 80s indie singles and long lost psych albums. And to celebrate – well we have got in a tad early – here is a list of ten of the greatest albums that have are vinyl only and …

Well it wasn’t me who said it. The words actually came from the lips of one Robyn Hitchcock. But then again he has a new album to promote – which is very, very good – and it is his 60th birthday. But it does strike me that there might be a grain of truth in his words, what with those …

It has been a really great week for albums with a pair of excellent new releases. Band of the week has to be Ulysses who return with their second album Kill You Again, and just like that debut it is an absolute corker. Think noisy glam rock meets Who-like psych with a few outrageous musical steals along with way. Best …

Simon Poulter of What Would David Bowie Do puts the case for the Floyd album which is 40 years old this week. Along with the ubiquity of fast food drive-throughs, questionable road surfaces and sparring with trucks large enough to have their own electorate, the essence of the American road trip lies in wading through the alphabet soup of radio …

Take a look at this pic. It is quartet of likely looking fellas from the early 60s enjoying a sneaky beer. Look again though and it becomes clear that in the picture is a very young John Lennon and an even younger George Harrison – who at eighteen is only just old enough to be swigging from the bottle. It …

If you are a serious bass player chances are that you’ll know the name of Steve Lawson. Over the years he has written countless articles about his beloved instrument, recorded a series of acclaimed albums, and via social media, delivered some very interesting perspectives on the future of the music industry. He has fascinating views on Spotify. So we have …